Lochte Loses Corporate Sponsorships, Which is Exactly What He Deserves

U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte’s drunken antics in Rio have not only lost him the respect of the American public but also a lot of money. Since it was revealed that Lochte and his teammates Gunner Bentz and Jack Conger had not been robbed at gunpoint, like Lochte originally claimed, but, instead, had drunkenly vandalized a gas station, his sponsors have turned on him like his awful green-tinged dye job.

Lochte has since issued an apology on Twitter and has tried to explain his actions in an interview with Today‘s Matt Lauer, but it’s a classic tale of “too little, too late.”

“He doesn’t even deserve an interview,” wrote one commentor, “He’s 32 years old, got way too drunk at an important event, made up an outrageous story for attention, abandoned his teammates and didn’t admit to anything until it was clear it wasn’t going away. Hires a PR person to get out of the mess he made and did he really take responsibility? Not really, just made excuses.”

Some of his sponsors agree. Already, Speedo USA, Ralph Lauren, Airweave and Syneron Candela have withdrawn their financial support from the swimmer, which, according to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, has lost him about $1 million.

Industry sources tell me Lochte lost about $1 million in current endorsement deals today.

“While we have enjoyed a winning relationship with Ryan for over a decade and he has been an important member of the Speedo team, we cannot condone behavior that is counter to the values this brand has long stood for,” Speedo said in a press release. “We appreciate his many achievements and hope he moves forward and learns from this experience.”

The company, which has sponsored Lochte for nearly ten years, announced that they will donate a $50,000 portion of Lochte’s remaining deal to the charity Save The Children, specifically to help children in Brazil.